Re: Frozen is Overrated

OP here.

I watched Frozen a week before it was officially released so I went in with a blank slate. I'm also a HUGE Disney fanatic and many have accused me of being biased because I dislike most Dreamworks attempts (except for Kung Fu Panda and How To Train Your Dragon... and I enjoyed Rise of the Guardians and Monsters vs Aliens).

I was entertained. But I also walked out feeling taken advantage of. Story is EVERYTHING and the plot points in this movie are not natural. They are manufactured, poorly I might add, to hit whatever song was written.

The filmmakers originally had Elsa be a villain in the film, which, even though it has been done, would have worked as a redemption story. Then the songwriters turned in "Let it Go". Instead of having the song writers support the story they were telling, the filmmakers rewrote the entire script to keep the song. That's the biggest red flag if I've ever seen one.

For one, each of these Princess films has an "I want" moment. We never really see what Elsa is going through. We see her upset and ignoring Anna... but we never get the sense that she hates her life and she hates that she has these powers. When "Let it Go" finally happens, it's not an "I want" moment but rather "I'm doing this even though I never expressed that I wanted it" moment. She's letting it all out... but is she really? She's still hiding. To me, "Let it Go" isn't big enough of a moment for me. She didn't earn it. It was given to her.

Freezing the town is supposed to be one of the pivotal moments in the film that sets all of it in motion. But... Elsa does it by accident. Whoops! Where's the motivation behind ANYTHING in this movie? She got scared and she blasts a few bits of ice.... there really should be something else here that triggers the freezing of an entire kingdom shouldn't there? She has stated many times in the film that she doesn't want to hurt anyone. Maybe she should... I dunno... accidentally hurt someone? Her fear of that could cause her emotions to go into some sort of meltdown, causing her to freeze uncontrollably. In fear of doing more damage and actually hurting more people, she should run. The freezing shouldn't come AFTER she runs away.

And Anna's big "I want" moment is to actually meet a dude! And not only does she meet a dude, but they sing about how much they're in love with each other! Is this film really as progressive as people say it is?

"For the First Time in Forever" as well as "Love is an Open Door" is actually nothing more than misdirection. They want you to believe in this love only to pull the rug from underneath you later. The Duke of Weaselton, not really a villain though questionable intentions, is also inserted to misguide you from thinking any ill-will of Hans.

Hans, for being the evil plotter that he is, does many things that would contradict his plans. And besides, if you're 13th in line, marrying a cute princess is not a bad consolation prize!

Kristoff... yeah... raised by trolls... that's maybe the most obvious "WTF" moment in the film. I'm all for him discovering the trolls and becoming life long friends, but... FAMILY? So weird and unnecessary. And he's also still doing the ice merchant business... with those other guys who... weren't his family right? They just let this orphan kid come along?

Anna and Elsa's parents. Poor them. Not since Cinderella was death of parent(s) so unemotional. Think of Bambi's mom, Mufasa, even Tarzan's parents had a more meaningful death. But the King and Queen needed to be removed from the story in order for Elsa to become queen. Too bad it wasn't done in a good storytelling way. IF the King and Queen were on a quest to find Elsa a cure, maybe Elsa could become even more guilt-ridden about concealing her powers and thus, ignoring Anna further. As the film is now, Elsa already ignores Anna the same amount as she did before her parents died, so that death played an even lesser importance than it should have.

Finally, Anna's quest after the kingdom is frozen. This is a kingdom, btw, that DOES have snowy winters. It's proven in the early scenes in the film. Why make a kingdom that KNOWS what winter is like go through an eternal winter? It should be a kingdom like Sunny Southern California that wouldn't know what to do if it started to snow!

But anyway... Anna, chases after her sister to "talk to her and fix the frozen winter problem". I'm sorry.. "talk" to her sister? This is the same sister that has ignored her all of her life? There's no drama here. Anna would be more heroic if she went up the mountain reluctantly only to try and save her kingdom. But no, she thinks going up the mountain willy nilly will fix it all. It's just uninteresting as a character to develop nothing. She's the same character from the start of the movie to the very end. It would be more satisfying to see her attempt this impossible mission without realizing the outcome.

As for the end, we always knew that Anna loved her sister Elsa. We could easily predict throughout the film that she WOULD risk her life for her. What would be less predictable if Elsa was even crueler from the start. To make that love more questionable. It would be a more satisfying end for Elsa to see just how much her sister loves her despite all the challenges and hardships she put her through. Afterall, it isn't Anna's frozen heart that needed healing... it was Elsa's.

Sorry, that was long. Thanks to those who read it. I just think this film has so much more potential. It's certainly a fixer upper.

Re: Frozen is Overrated

Well... yes its overrated. Okay, remember folks... this is my own opinion, so if you like the movie that's great! I'm glad you enjoy it. And yes, I don't hate the movie either, its okay... but it is overrated in my opinion. But I also think Tangled is overrated... a good movie, but I don't get why people think its so darn amazing. Same goes for Frozen. It suffers from not having a proper villain... I think somebody else mentioned this too. Its also no where near as good as The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast. And for the record, I think The Princess and the Frog is way better.

Re: Frozen is Overrated

To me Hans is the biggest villian of them all for what he was going to kill both sisters to take over there kingdom. I know he has no magical powers like Maleficent,Jafar or Ursula but what he did is pear evil. I can't even stand talking about him or say his name. Other then the 1 figure I have of him cause he came in that 6 pack I don't want anything to do with him.

Re: Frozen is Overrated

Originally Posted by Coheteboy

OP here.

I watched Frozen a week before it was officially released so I went in with a blank slate
[...]
The filmmakers originally had Elsa be a villain in the film, which, even though it has been done, would have worked as a redemption story. Then the songwriters turned in "Let it Go". Instead of having the song writers support the story they were telling, the filmmakers rewrote the entire script to keep the song. That's the biggest red flag if I've ever seen one.

Re: Frozen is Overrated

*shrug* It's a movie. There hasn't been one that's universally adored and given accolades by every segment of the world. To claim it's a perfect work - or even one that IS universally adored - is as off base as claiming the film has no worth and is the "Movie 43" of Disney.

My personal view fits a few others here - I'd put it above something like "Chicken Little" but definitely not on the same level as "Mulan" or "Cinderella".

Re: Frozen is Overrated

Originally Posted by BogLurch

*shrug* It's a movie. There hasn't been one that's universally adored and given accolades by every segment of the world. To claim it's a perfect work - or even one that IS universally adored - is as off base as claiming the film has no worth and is the "Movie 43" of Disney.

My personal view fits a few others here - I'd put it above something like "Chicken Little" but definitely not on the same level as "Mulan" or "Cinderella".

Haha, I think most of us can agree that Chicken Little and Home on the Range are pretty close to the bottom of the Disney Feature Animation rankings.

… so yes, Frozen is indeed better than those.

……but I prefer listening to my Home on the Range sndtrk more than Frozen.

Re: Frozen is Overrated

Well put, Coheteboy!! I honestly couldn't have conjured up a better analysis of the film. When you jump around to each character, their stories and motivation are pretty silly. Well, Olaf was meant to be that way, but he doesn't count.

Originally Posted by Capt Hook

To me Hans is the biggest villian of them all for what he was going to kill both sisters to take over there kingdom. I know he has no magical powers like Maleficent,Jafar or Ursula but what he did is pear evil. I can't even stand talking about him or say his name. Other then the 1 figure I have of him cause he came in that 6 pack I don't want anything to do with him.

To me it's like they didn't complete the character of Hans. As a villain, he was incredibly weak. You want a villain with no magical powers and still captures the audience? Frollo. Judge Frollo is an amazing villain and underrated when it comes to other Disney villains. He is the essence of cruelty.

Re: Frozen is Overrated

Originally Posted by Flickering Bulb

To me it's like they didn't complete the character of Hans. As a villain, he was incredibly weak. You want a villain with no magical powers and still captures the audience? Frollo. Judge Frollo is an amazing villain and underrated when it comes to other Disney villains. He is the essence of cruelty.

I don't think so. Frollo was weak like Gaston is. Hans on the other hand was tricky. I never knew he would turn into the skunk that he is. I really though that the Duke and his men where going to be the main villians when how the Duke was all wanting the treashers of Arendelle and how he kept calling Queen Elsa a monster. When I first saw the movie in theaters you should of hear the people in there they all where shock to fine out Hans was the true villian out of the whole movie. I even hear one person use the F word. Hans will always be the worst villian to me. He along with Maleficent are the two I can't stand out of all the Disney Villians.

Re: Frozen is Overrated

Completely overrated IMO. My friends told me to buy it since it is the best movie ever, UUUUUUUMMMMMMM NOOOO!!! I liked it for Olaf, since I love snowman. Olaf was the only reason I kept watching it. He had such a small part, I was very disappointed. The plot stunk, music so-so. Not going to watch it again.

Re: Frozen is Overrated

Originally Posted by Capt Hook

I don't think so. Frollo was weak like Gaston is. Hans on the other hand was tricky. I never knew he would turn into the skunk that he is. I really though that the Duke and his men where going to be the main villians when how the Duke was all wanting the treashers of Arendelle and how he kept calling Queen Elsa a monster. When I first saw the movie in theaters you should of hear the people in there they all where shock to fine out Hans was the true villian out of the whole movie. I even hear one person use the F word. Hans will always be the worst villian to me. He along with Maleficent are the two I can't stand out of all the Disney Villians.

Frollo WAS weak… but not a weak character. His weakness is his greatest flaw. He was incredibly complex and a tortured soul. He was evil, but didn't believe he was. He had lust in his eyes and because it was wrong, he would remove the person causing the lust and to him, he was doing the Lord's work! That's a real villain… someone who is doing something evil without fully realizing it.

Gaston isn't weak neither. He's just a well liked character who isn't used to not getting his way… and when he can't get his way, he snaps. In his mind, he's saving the town, but he's really doing it because he's jealous of the Beast. That's a character with real emotions.

Hans… he's 13th in line in his family, had no shot at royalty. So he was originally planning to marry Queen Elsa and then bump her off so he would become sole ruler of the kingdom. Realizing he wouldn't get anywhere with Elsa, he goes for Anna so he could kill Elsa later. …but doesn't (perhaps to unfreeze his kingdom first), and then finds Anna almost dead, decides to let her die and have Elsa executed. WHEW! This guy's plan really isn't all that bad, but does he need to do all of it within a week? He's in a pretty big hurry. He already earned the trust of the people. Just to throw it all away in an instant.

yes, everyone in the theater was shocked. it was designed to do just that. Nothing more.

Re: Frozen is Overrated

^Very valid points. When Hans' true agenda was revealed, it did surprise me because it was so unusual for a Disney animated film. Most Disney villains you know they are up to no good the moment the appear on the screen for the first time.

Re: Frozen is Overrated

Originally Posted by Flickering Bulb

To me it's like they didn't complete the character of Hans. As a villain, he was incredibly weak. You want a villain with no magical powers and still captures the audience? Frollo. Judge Frollo is an amazing villain and underrated when it comes to other Disney villains. He is the essence of cruelty.

This. Frollo is a proper villain, and scary without having any magic powers too. Hans on the other hand just didn't seem like a proper villain to me, that and he wasn't menacing really... well in my opinion.